by Joanna Wylde
“Of course,” Calla said quickly, raising the cup to his lips.
“So they planned and waited,” he continued. “One day, a bunch of the miners left to go to another base, some kind of meeting. When they’d gone, Jess and the others overpowered the men watching us. There were only two of them, and about fifty of us. They were so smug—they thought they could kill us with a touch of a button. You should have seen the looks on their faces when they realized the implants weren’t working! It was beautiful to see, although I wasn’t very close. I had to stay away, you know, because my implant was still active.
“When they realized their emergency activation wands weren’t going to work, that’s when they got scared. Then they started screaming, and one of them actually got down on his knees and begged for his life. This was the same guy who, just a week before, had killed a slave for walking too slow. Bastard.
“They killed him, of course, and they killed the other guard too,” Bragan got a hard look in his eyes. “I still think they let them die too quick, but Jess and Logan were pretty clear from the start. They’d kill the Pilgrims, but they weren’t going to torture them. Said they wanted to be better than them or something, I don’t know. Anyway, once the guards were dead it was easy to take over the base. There were hardly any men left; they took all of them out and shot them.”
“What about the women?” Calla whispered, a sinking feeling in her stomach. Seth had described the charnel pile he’d found to her. “What about the children?”
“They herded them all together in one of the transport ships. Sent them off toward the main base on a slow route, I guess. Told them to tell everyone what happened, and that Pilgrims better not sleep soundly anymore,” he added with a vicious smile. The gleam in his eyes was almost feral. Calla was glad he was still tied up, because at that moment he scared her. She could see the madness in his eyes. “We didn’t want to hurt them. Most of them were as much victims as we were, although some were real bitches. And there was one…well, anyway,” he said, looking away from her. Calla sensed he was hiding something from her.
“What happened?” she pressed. “I want to know.”
“You’re not going to like it,” Bragan said, still not meeting her eyes.
“Tell me,” Calla said with quiet confidence. “I’ve survived a lot myself. I can handle it.”
“Well, Jess was always watching her,” he finally said. “He talked about her all the time, and when we finally took over the base, he took her.”
“What do you mean, her?’ Calla whispered. “Who was she? What did he do to her.”
“She was the station leader’s daughter, and what the hell do you think he did to her? Use your imagination,” Bragan snapped. “He said she was his, that she wasn’t going with the others. He was keeping her. For himself.”
Calla felt sick to her stomach. The Jess she knew would never hurt a helpless young woman, but she could see the truth in Bragan’s eyes. She pushed it out of her mind, it was too much to think about. Jess was gone—free! A part of her felt like singing with joy for him, the other like crying for him and the woman he’d taken prisoner. The Jess of her youth was gone beyond her reach, she realized with sorrow. She would never find him now. “Tell me the rest.”
“Well, once they got rid of the women and children, they set a trap for the men. When those buggers returned, they ambushed them and killed them. All of them,” he said with dark satisfaction. “I helped them do it, too. I’ve lasted a long time here because I’m a doctor and they needed me. The others weren’t so fortunate. I’ve seen a lot of young men die on this rock. Killing those Pilgrim bastards was justice. I’d like to do it again,” he muttered, dark pleasure lighting his face.
“When they got done, they had a council and decided to go their separate ways. Logan was taking a bunch of them with him, and I guess Jess was going to meet up with them later. He took that girl and went off to find you. There was another group who wanted to go hunt down more of the Pilgrims and rescue their slaves. They were the ones who were coming back for me with a doctor… I was going to go with them, to remove implants,” he said. “I guess that’s not going to happen now.”
“I guess not,” Calla whispered. “I don’t know what to tell you. Even if I had a way to get you out of here, I can’t do anything about the implant.”
The two sat in silence for a while. Sarai watched over them, still holding the gun. Finally, the woman spoke, startling both of them.
“You aren’t very good at keeping your voices down,” she said. “I heard what you said. I had no idea you were a slave, Devora. Or should I call you Calla?”
“Devora,” Calla said tightly. She squeezed her eyes closed, willing her situation to change. She didn’t think Sarai would intentionally harm her, but the woman was weak. Eventually Calvin would find out, and then she’d be caught.
“Devora,” Sarai spoke softly, reassuringly. “I know what it’s like to be afraid. I’ve been afraid my whole life, but I’ve come to realize something.” She set the gun down carefully on the table, then came across the room to sit with them on the floor.
“I’ve realized that I don’t like living in fear, and I don’t want my children to live in fear any more, either,” she continued. “Until now, I never saw how I could change that. I see now, though.”
“What do you see?” Calla asked dully. Jess was gone. They’d each found a chance at freedom in their own way, but they had no way to find each other. It was a big quadrant.
“I see that we don’t have to stay here,” Sarai replied. She looked more animated than Calla had ever seen her. “Those slaves revolted, and they left. We could have our own little revolt.”
“You want to kill Seth and Calvin?” Calla asked, horrified.
“No, of course not,” Sarai said. “But we could leave them here. I listen to all of you talk; I know this ship is capable of flying without a pilot. All we have to do is leave. Once we’re gone we could send help for Seth and Calvin. But by the time they’re rescued we’ll be long gone. Don’t you see? This could be our only chance. We’ll sell the ship and make new lives for ourselves!”
“I can’t do that to Seth,” Calla said. “He doesn’t deserve to be treated that way.”
“I don’t deserve to be treated this way, either,” Sarai replied fervently. “Neither do my children. Seth hasn’t done anything to help us.”
“Think about what she’s saying, Missy,” Bragan added, watching her closely. “I don’t know this Seth very well, but I do know that life isn’t easy for a slave on the run. If he ever finds out, he could return you to your master for a reward, or even take you himself. You don’t have any rights, you know.”
Calla could see their logic, but leaving Seth seemed so wrong. She loved him. Of course, he didn’t love her, she reminded herself. When their contract was up, she might never see him again. She’d have enough money to get herself set up somewhere, but that wouldn’t help Sarai and her children. Just the thought of leaving them with Calvin made her blood run cold.
“I’ll have to think about it,” she said finally. “What about you, Bragan? What would happen to you if we did it?”
“You can just leave me here,” he said earnestly. “It won’t change anything. I’m stuck on this rock no matter what. While you’re thinking, though, I would really appreciate something to eat.”
“Of course,” Sarai said, startled into giving a out a little laugh. She sounded happy, Calla realized. She’d never heard Sarai sound happy before. “I’ll get you something.”
Calla sat thinking as Sarai fed the man. Maybe she should take the ship. If she did, they could go somewhere and sell it. They’d get enough to start over, and if they went far enough away, Seth would never find them. Calla had no doubt his anger would be terrible. If she did do it, she didn’t want to take any chances he’d find her… A whirring noise from the airlock caught her attention. The men were back. Sarai leapt away from Bragan, busying herself in the kitchen area.
�
��Think about it,” Bragan softly, his eyes locking with hers. Then the airlock door opened, and Seth and Calvin walked were there. Seth’s gaze flew to his prisoner, noting the gag had been removed.
“I told you not to talk to him,” Seth said angrily to Calla. “He’s dangerous.”
Chapter Nine
Devora stared up at him with guilt written all over her lovely face. Why was she talking to Bragan? Sarai was scuttling around like a mad woman, refusing to look at any of them. The children were nowhere to be seen. Something was definitely going on, Seth thought.
“Why were you talking to him?” He repeated his question.
“Um,” Devora said, casting her eyes about. Then she gestured toward a small bowl of water and a rag. “I was worried about him. He wasn’t moving, so I decided to clean off his face and make sure he was all right. When he woke up he wanted some water. We—I mean, I—gave him a drink and some food. That’s all.”
No one said anything, and silence fell over the room. Calvin glared at her, then muttered, “Stupid women,” before turning to pull off his suit. A new stench—that of vomit—followed him. Seth tensed at Calvin’s tone; he had long since realized the man was a fool as well as a menace, but he learned a great deal about the Pilgrims from him. In fact, he was pretty sure Calvin thought Seth was considering joining the cult. It was probably the only reason the man hadn’t turned on him yet, Seth reasoned.
As for Devora, he would keep a close eye on her. She seemed to be up to something, but he had no idea what interest she would have in Bragan. Maybe she was just trying to help the man; he did look pathetic slumped there on the floor.
“Well, don’t talk to him any more,” Seth finally said. “I’ll make sure he’s fed from now on.”
“What are you planning to do with him?” Devora asked bluntly.
“We’ll kill the bastard,” Calvin blustered. “He’s a murderer, he deserves to die.”
“Not so fast,” Seth broke in quickly. “Bragan, if you give us the information we’re looking for we may spare you.”
Bragan’s eyes grew wild at Seth’s words. He tensed his entire body, then spat at Seth like a snake.
“I’ll take that as a sign you don’t want to talk right now,” Seth said, sighing. His mission had grown far more complex than he’d ever anticipated. He’d come to the belt to collect information on a dangerous cult. Now he had a family to rescue, not to mention a band of revolutionary slaves running around. Not that he blamed them for fighting back; the working conditions in the belt were unbearable. Quietly he admitted some admiration for the men who’d risked their lives to fight back. He would have done the same in their situation. It created complications for the occupation and peace process, however. The Saurellians couldn’t afford to look weak right now.
“Calvin, let’s eat and we’ll talk about tomorrow,” he said finally.
“Woman, bring me my food,” Calvin bellowed and Sarai jumped. “And bakrah!”
He missed eating with Devora, Seth thought as he sat with Calvin that night. The man was telling him the Celestial Pilgrim’s theories on racial purity. Seth listened with one ear, keying a small pocket recorder to preserve everything the man said for the Saurellian intelligence analysts. Calvin’s theories were so delusional and violent that they made him feel ill at times; it was hard to stay focused. Devora and Sarai eventually took small plates of food in to the children. Seth wished deeply that he could go with them. The evening, like every evening with Calvin, crept by with agonizing slowness. After an eternity, the disgusting man belched heavily and lumbered off to the bedroom. Devora and Sarai cleaned up his mess, then Sarai retired.
“Can I feed Bragan some dinner?” Devora asked quietly once the three of them were alone in the room..
“I’ll do it,” Seth said gruffly, wishing he hadn’t come down on her so hard earlier. She still refused to look at him. There’d been something different about her for days now, and he suspected it had something to do with the way he was making friends with Calvin. She didn’t trust him and she hated Calvin. For the thousandth time, he wished he could explain everything to her. But each time he almost broke down, he reminded himself that she was a former imperial citizen who hadn’t expressed any allegiance to the confederation. It was an unnecessary risk, one he had no right to take.
Once this was all over, he knew their life together would be hard. She might not want to live in Saurellian space. She would expect regular compensation, and he would have to keep a close eye on her. He’d have to be particularly careful around other men. She was a pleasure worker, she wasn’t used to long-term fidelity. She would learn with time, though. He could make her happy; his family was both wealthy and of high social standing. He just needed to finish his mission and they’d be able to start over…
Dropping to one knee, Seth offered Bragan a bite of the hearty stew they’d had for dinner. Bragan took it and chewed it furiously. After several mouthfuls without incident, Seth let his attention wander. His gaze came to rest on Devora, who was sitting at the table studying some star charts. It seemed like such a long time since they’d looked at the charts together; she loved to learn about the geography of the quadrant and navigation, but since Calvin had been on board they hadn’t done anything together. She was so beautiful just sitting there that it made his heart ache to watch her.
His reverie was broken by a warm splat against his face. Stifling a roar of surprise and anger, he slapped one hand to his cheek, pulling it away to see what hit him. Bragan was giggling at him. With disgust, Seth realized the man had spit chewed-up stew at him. He glared at the man, raising a hand to cuff him for his insolence. Then the absurdity of the situation hit him, and he dropped his arm slowly. He replaced the gag in Bragan’s mouth…
“That’s it for tonight, Bragan,” he said, forcing himself to ignore the incident. The man was clearly crazy. He rose to his feet, washed the mess off of his face and went to join Devora at the table. She didn’t look at him directly, but he could see her shoulders shuddering with suppressed laughter. “I’m glad I could do something to entertain you.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “The look on your face was priceless.” She sobered after a minute, then asked him, “So what did you find today?”
“Well, it looks like things got pretty bloody,” Seth said, relaxing back in his chair. It felt good to sit and talk with her. It had been too long. “I did a scan of the bodies we found, and none of them were women or children. I don’t know what happened to them, though, so we have to assume they’re hostages.”
“Bragan said they sent them to the Discovery station,” Devora broke in quietly. Seth looked at her penetratingly, and Bragan gave a grunt of protest from his corner. “Bragan, he needs to know this,” she told the prisoner. “You don’t want them to think the slaves are more dangerous than they are, do you?”
“So you don’t think they’re dangerous?” Seth asked casually. Devora’s words surprised him; he’d thought she would have been more frightened by the idea of a slave revolt.
“Well, they were being held under terrible conditions,” she replied, looking away from him. “If you were a slave, wouldn’t you try to get away?”
“Maybe,” Seth said. “But I can’t approve of they way they slaughtered these men.”
Devora’s eyes flashed in anger. He didn’t understand why she cared so much.
“If they were just slaughtering people, why did they spare the women and children? It sounds to me like the men got what they deserved. You’ve heard Calvin talk—he doesn’t even think of the slaves as human. I know why they did what they did.”
“You know why they did what they did? What does that mean, exactly? It’s not like you’ve ever been a slave,” Seth said, one eyebrow raised. Devora looked away.
“I guess I meant I can imagine what it would be like,” she said finally. Bragan gave a harsh bark of laughter from behind his gag as he sat tied in the corner, and Devora glared at him. “I’m tired of this. I want to go to slee
p.”
“Fine,” Seth said mildly, promising himself he’d start this conversation with Devora again someday. He’d never seen her so flustered; she was definitely hiding something. She stood up abruptly and went into the fresher. With a sigh, Seth turned off the lights and made his way over to the pallet they’d been sleeping on ever since Calvin and his family had joined them. The ship was too small for so many people, Seth thought darkly. With Bragan in the room with them, he and Devora couldn’t even have sex. He missed their times together.
After a few minutes she came out of the fresher and joined him in the darkness. He reached over and pulled her small body close to his, nestling his front against her back. She stiffened, then relaxed into his larger frame. Dropping his face down into her hair, he inhaled deeply. She smelled clean and fresh, and he hardened instantly. Her tight little butt wiggled involuntarily against his erection, and he felt his cock twitch in response. Bragan snorted loudly from across the room, and Seth stiffened.
It was going to be a long night.
When Seth awoke the next morning, Devora was already up and ready. Bragan had been grunting during the night and making himself generally annoying; neither of them had gotten much sleep. Calvin strutted out into the room a few minutes later. Sarai came out even more quietly than usual, her long hair hanging in her face. Both children were equally subdued, staying as far away from their father as possible.
He must have hurt her last night, Seth realized. He was going to have to do something about Calvin today, he decided. The man’s value wasn’t worth tolerating his behavior any longer. He needed Calvin to help him move some of the barricades left over from revolt, but tonight the Pilgrim would join Bragan in captivity. Perhaps he could convert one of the two cargo holds to serve as a make-shift prison cell, he mused. Devora dropped his breakfast in front of him on the table with a thunk. She was angry with him, probably about Sarai’s condition. He sighed heavily, wishing it was just the two of them again.
